Asylum Procedure
BASIC TERMS
ASYLUM
Asylum means an entitlement for the foreign national to whom it is granted to reside in the territory of Hungary, as well as protection against refoulement, expulsion and extradition.
ASYLUM PROCEDURE
The objective of the asylum procedure is to establish whether the asylum-seeker is eligible for refugee status or subsidiary protection, and whether the principle of non-refoulement applies, and if not, should the asylum-seeker be expelled, extradited, or be transferred to another EU Member State by way of transfer under the Dublin process.
REFUGEE
Refugee status may be granted to a person whose life and liberty are threatened in his/her country of origin on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, or whose fear of being subject to persecution is well founded, and who currently resides in the territory of Hungary and submits an application for asylum.
In order to maintain the unity of the family, unless there is a reason for exclusion, upon request, the refugee’s family members (spouse, if the family relationship has been established prior to entering Hungary, minor child, or the minor child’s parent where applicable) and the refugee’s children born in Hungary may also be recognised as refugee.
Refugee status remains in force until the refugee receives Hungarian citizenship, or until the refugee status is withdrawn.
The refugee authority is ex officio required to review each refugee status every three years.
PERSONS ADMITTED FOR SUBSIDIARY PROTECTION
A person may be admitted for subsidiary protection if he/she does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom there is reason to believe that the person concerned, if returned to his/her country of origin would face a real risk of suffering serious harm, and is unable, or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country.
In order to maintain family unity, unless there is a reason for exclusion, upon request, the family member of the person admitted for subsidiary protection will be granted subsidiary protection as well, if they have jointly applied for protection or if the family member has submitted an application for subsidiary protection upon the consent of the person admitted for subsidiary protection, before the resolution for granting subsidiary protection status is adopted.
Furthermore, if a foreign national who has been granted subsidiary protection status has a child born in the territory of Hungary, the child shall also be granted subsidiary protection status upon request.
The refugee authority is ex officio required to review each subsidiary protection status every three years.
PERSONS ENJOYING TEMPORARY PROTECTION
Temporarily protected status, i.e. temporary protection, may be granted to groups leaving their home country in masses, on the basis of the decision of the Council of the European Union or the Government. Parliament grants temporary protection to foreign nationals arriving to Hungary in masses on account of being forced to flee their country due to an armed conflict, civil war, ethnic conflict or the general, systematic and gross violation of human rights, in particular torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Refugee status and status of temporary protection differ in time, meaning that while temporary protection is granted for a specific period of time determined by Parliament (one year that can be extended), refugee status ends when the refugee receives Hungarian citizenship, or until the status is withdrawn.
ABOUT THE ASYLUM PROCEDURE IN GENERAL
How to submit the application
In Hungary an asylum procedure is opened when the application for recognition is submitted with the refugee authority, therefore, if you have been forced to leave your own country due to persecution or risk of serious harm, you have to declare your intention to request international protection as soon as you enter Hungary. The application for recognition must be submitted to the asylum authority in person, however, you may ask to apply for asylum while undergoing immigration, misdemeanour or criminal proceedings.
Address of regional bodies of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing responsible for refugee matters:
· Regional Directorate of Budapest and Pest County, Asylum Division
Detention in asylum proceedings
With a view to conducting the asylum procedure or for the purpose of transfer under the Dublin process, the refugee authority is entitled to detain any asylum-seeker whose right of residence lies solely based on the application for asylum, if the conditions for detention in asylum proceedings exist. Detention may be ordered for a maximum period of 72 hours, and it can be extended by up to 60 days by court ruling adopted by recommendation of the refugee authority. The refugee authority may submit requests for extension on more than one occasions, with the proviso that the total duration of detention may not exceed 6 months.
Fingerprint and photograph
Upon receipt of an application for asylum, if the applicant is 14 years of age or older, his/her fingerprint will be taken by the Hungarian authorities and transmitted to a fingerprint database of the European Union called “EURODAC” to determine if the applicant has previously applied for asylum in another EU Member State or if previously resided in another EU Member State. Fingerprints are managed confidentially in the EURODAC system. In addition to fingerprints, a photo will also be taken, which will be handled confidentially as well.
Costs
If this is the applicant’s first asylum procedure in Hungary, he/she will be exempted from all procedural costs of the authority and the court. The costs of interpretation is covered by the Office. Following the first proceedings the person seeking asylum shall be granted individual cost exemption, except if the person seeking asylum is ordered to reimburse the expenses incurred by decision of the refugee authority upon weighing his/her personal circumstances.
Assistance
If during your travel you lost contact with your family members and you wish to contact them again, the refugee authority can help you through the Red Cross or other humanitarian organisations. To this end, please provide all personal data of your family members, including their last known address.
Apart from the refugee authority, you may also request help from other persons and organisations, including lawyers, organisations offering free legal aid or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ORGANISATIONS OFFERING FREE HELP AND ASSISTANCE
Hungarian Red Cross (Search Group)
1051 Budapest, Arany János utca 31
Mailing address: 1367 Budapest, Pf. 121
Phone: (06 1) 374 1338
e-mail: intdept@redcross.hu
website: http://www.redcross.hu
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
1022 Budapest, Felvinci út 27.
Phone: (06 1) 336 3060
e-mail: hunbu@unhcr.org
website: http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org
International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
1065 Budapest, Révay u. 12.
Phone: (06 1) 472 2500
e-mail: mrfbudapest@iom.int
website: www.iom.hu
Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma (Ministry of Human Capacities)
1055 Budapest, Szalay utca 10-14.
Mailing address: 1051 Budapest, Arany János utca 6-8.
Phone: (06 1) 795 4755
e-mail: info@nefmi.gov.hu
website: http://www.kormany.hu/hu/emberi-eroforrasok-miniszteriuma
Igazságügyi Hivatal (Office of Justice)
1088 Budapest, Múzeum utca 17.
Phone: (06 1) 301 3200
e-mail: info@kih.gov.hu
website: http://igazsagugyihivatal.gov.hu/jogi-segitsegnyujtas
Budapest: 1111 Budafoki út 59 Phone: (06 1) 450 2590. e-mail: isz.jso@bfkh.hu
Pest County: Budapest 1116, Hauszmann Alajos u. 1-3. Phone: (06 1) 450 2592, (06 1) 450 2594, (06 1) 450 2595. e-mail: pest@kih.gov.hu
Debrecen: 4024 Piac u. 42-48. Phone: (06 52) 501 026, -501-027, -501-028. e-mail: hajdu@kih.gov.hu
Nyíregyháza: 4400 Kereszt u. 9. Phone: (06 42) 597 697, -597 696, -597 695. e-mail: szabolcs@kih.gov.hu
Békéscsaba: 5600 Szabadság tér. 20-22. Phone: (06 66) 540 362, -540 361, -540 360. e-mail: bekes@kih.gov.hu
Szeged: 6721 Tisza L. krt. 2-4. Phone: (06 62) 549 196, -549 197, -549 195. e-mail: csongrad@kih.gov.hu
Data protection
The refugee authority maintains confidentiality with respect to all data it has on record, and will only disclose them to Hungarian authorities and courts authorised to access them, and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The refugee authority will not establish any communication with the authorities of the country of origin if the applicant is persecuted by those authorities.
Competent authorities
The Agency for Constitutional Protections (Alkotmányvédelmi Hivatal; AH) and the Counter-Terrorism Centre (Terrorelhárítási Központ; TEK) will be involved in the asylum procedure as specialist authorities in order to decide whether the applicant’s residence poses a threat to the national security of Hungary. If the person seeking asylum cites the persecution of Christianity in his/her application the Minister of Human Capacities shall hear and determine such case. The time required for the procedures of specialist authorities (15 days) and for other procedural is not included in the procedural time limit.
The process known as the Dublin Procedure
Information about the Dublin procedure is available here
Unaccompanied minors
If the asylum-seeker is below the age of 18 years and arrived to Hungary unaccompanied, the guardian authority will appoint a child welfare officer to assist the asylum-seeker during the procedure. If the refugee authority is of the opinion that the asylum-seeker is presumably not a minor, it will appoint a medical expert to determine the asylum-seeker’s age.
ASYLUM PROCEDURE
Procedural time limit
The asylum procedure will be carried out in 60 days, covering the asylum-seeker’s personal interview as well. The time required for procedural steps is not included in the procedural time limit. However, in some cases the authority has power to bring a decision within a shorter period of time, in a so called accelerated procedure.
If there is any possibility that another EU Member State is responsible for the examination of the application, the procedure will be suspended until the competent authority of that EU Member State provides a response. The duration of such procedure depends on the co-operation of the foreign partner authorities, and may take several months.
Hearing and records
The asylum-seeker will be interviewed during the asylum procedure, assisted by an interpreter. During the interview the applicant is asked to provide details about the reasons for fleeing, the circumstances of reaching Hungary, and to present any evidence that may be available to support the application, including personal identification documents.
During the asylum procedure, the refugee authority will inform the applicant in detail about his/her rights and obligations relating to the procedure.
Decision
In the asylum procedure a decision may be adopted for:
· Granting refugee status
· Granting subsidiary protection
· Granting temporary protection, which enables the asylum-seeker to stay in Hungary on a temporary basis
· Refusing the application in full
· Terminating the procedure.
If the application is refused in its entirety – and if the applicant does not have the right of residence in Hungary on other grounds – the refugee authority shall provide for the expulsion and deportation of the applicant, and shall set the duration of the exclusion measure.
If the applicant is granted international protection as provided for above (i.e. refugee status, subsidiary protection or non-refoulement) the applicant will be given the right of residence in the territory of Hungary. The National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing provides support and assistance to the client so as to facilitate his/her integration into the Hungarian society as soon as possible.
If the applicant refuses to co-operate, the refugee authority shall either terminate the procedure or adopt a decision based on data and information available. If the applicant absconded, the refugee authority may decide to terminate the procedure, or to adopt a decision relating to the application based on data and information available.
The refugee authority shall notify the applicant and his/her legal counsel in writing about the time of delivery of the decision adopted in the asylum procedure. The refugee authority shall bring its decision in writing, in Hungarian, and provide a copy to the applicant and his/her legal counsel, however, it is delivered verbally, in a language that the applicant understands.
In the asylum procedure the authority shall assess whether the accelerated procedure can be applied. If yes, the authority shall adopt a decision in such accelerated procedure within 15 days from the date of occurrence of the underlying circumstance.
Expulsion
If the authority decided to refuse the application, or if the application is withdrawn by the asylum-seeker, or if denies to make a statement, hence obstructing the examination of the application, fails to show for the personal interview, or prevents or refuses to allow to have his/her fingerprint or facial likeness taken, and if there is no other reason for his/her lawful residence in Hungary, the authority shall order his/her expulsion from the territory of the European Union, to be executed by the immigration authority. The refugee authority may also bring an exclusion order.
Remedies
If the application is refused and expulsion is ordered, the applicant may appeal the decision in the court of law within the time limit specified in the decision. The court will either uphold the decision, or may abolish the decision and order the authority to re-examine the application.
WAIVER
If the person admitted for international protection no longer wishes to maintain his/her refugee status or subsidiary protection, it may be waived in writing. Please note that the waiver of refugee status cannot be withdrawn, if the refugee authority has withdrawn the refugee status upon receipt of the waiver.
WITHDRAWAL OF REFUGEE/PROTECTED STATUS
Pursuant to the Asylum Act, in specific cases the refugee authority must withdraw the refugee or subsidiary protection status in certain specific cases. It shall ex officio launch a procedure to that effect, and shall notify the client thereof.
For example, the refugee or subsidiary protection status must be withdrawn from a foreign national who voluntarily relies on the protection of his/her country of origin again, who voluntarily reacquires his/her lost citizenship, who voluntarily returns to the country from where he/she arrived, or who has made any false statement, concealed a true fact or presented fake documents during the asylum procedure which had a material impact on the decision of his/her case, and also if the person admitted for international protection waived his/her refugee status.